i have a 90 honda accord ex that had the timing belt break and bent four valves. i had the head redone and new valves installed. when i reassembled, i couldnt get the timing marks to line up right, but the car ran fine. the only problem was that tons of heat came out of the heater vents and the engine felt VERY hot, but the temp gauge read fine. figuring that i was one tooth off on the timing belt, i took the engine apart and moved the belt one tooth on the camshaft sprocket. when i put it together and went to check the timing, everything lined up perfectly. assuming i had fixed the problem, i take the car out around the block and there isnt any heat coming from the vents, and when i checked, the engine felt like it was running at a much more reasonable temp. the only problem is i have NO low end power and it seems to get worse the more i drive. i get almost no response until i hit about 2000 rpms. when i punch it or go to take off from the line it just hesistates, then slowly moves until i hit about 2000, then it respondes normally. i also changed the spark plugs when i took the engine apart and moved it one tooth.

My questions are:
1)why do i have no low end power.
2)are the spark plugs bad
3)was i better off with the timing belt one tooth off where the engine seemed to function normally
4)if so, why all the extra heat coming from the vents and the engine
5)since thermostats are determined by the valve temp, and i had the valve job done, do i need to install a new thermostat to correlate with the new valve temp (ther mechanic who did the valve job said that the valves would be set to the hot side)

 

any and all thoughts, comments, ideas and suggestions will be appreciated

 

Have you checked the distributor timing? I'll bet that it is way out of whack after removing the head and hasn't been set back to factory stock.

About the timing belt, make sure you triple check the marks to make sure they align and then check again. Don't drive the car until the marks completely line up.

 

everything lines up perfectly. by checking distributor timing, are you talking about hooking up a timing light, if so, ive already done that and it is lined up perfectly---thats why im confused

 

You need to make sure the timing marks are spot on with the timing belt tight. I cringe to think that you've already started and driven the car twice while being unsure of your alignment.

Second, ANY time you take the head off an engine to replace/rebuild anything, replace the thermostat. ANY time you do anything to give you access to the timing belt [such as replacing it], replace the water pump. It's cheap insurance.

I'm guessing that the timing was done correctly the first time, but the thermostat didn't open properly to vent air from the cooling system, which would have your gauge read somewhat normal, and the heater and engine seem very hot.

Also sounds like when you moved the timing belt one tooth, you retarded the camshaft, and that's why power seems to be very lacking, because ignition timing is run directly off of crank timing.

 

the water pump was changed and the thermostat had been changed less than a year ago so i didnt bother to change it again. the reason i bring it up is that i recently read that thermostat temp is related to valve temp, and since the valves were redone and set to run on the hot side, i thought that maybe the thermostat would need to be changed to work with the new valve temp.

if the timing was correct the first time and i reset it, what should i do to remedy the heat issue?

 

also, if what i have done has caused any permanent damage, what do you think the worst case scenario would be?---ex the loss of power that seemed to get worse as i went---was this caused by the engine becoming damaged or by the temp of the engine increasing as it ran. when i start it cold, it sounds fine and idles pretty good

 

Well, for one, you need to make sure all the air is out of the cooling system. There should be a bleeder valve near either the thermostat housing, or where the top radiator hose goes into the engine.

Next from there, you need to check, and recheck that all the timing marks line up, with the timing belt tight. If not, re-set until it does. Setting the timing with the timing belt loose tells you nothing.

After that's taken care of, set your valve lash. Don't trust the machine shop settings. If the lash is set too tight, it will cause the loss of power you described.

Once the timing is set right, the lash is set right, and all the air is out of the cooling system, you shouldn't have a heat problem.

 

i have been checking all of these with the belts tight

i have bled the cooling system.

i actually took the car in to a shop to have the valve lash set, but that was before moving it one tooth on the cam sprocket, but still had the heat problem.

do i need to have the lash reset after lining up all the timing marks, because like i said, it ran perfectly when it was one tooth off

 

If all the marks line up perfect, the engine is timed correctly.

Also, it's a good idea to reset the valve lash if you move the cam position [in relation to the crank].